i dont understand the concept of Fender

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cubanorocker316

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Hello all you Fender lovers, what I am about to say is not a disrespect in any way to Fender or the Fender loving society but, I just want to understand it, my freind bought a 600 dollar !!!!! fender, it doesnt sound good at all, its like buying a first act guitar i dont get it, my 150 dollar ibanez sounds way better. So is there a meaning to this, are they expensive because they are popular ?or what ?
 
It depends on what you are using it for. If you play the type of music that fenders are good at, your Ibanez will fall flat. Different tools for different jobs.
 
Fender guitars have their own distinct sound. That sound has become somewhat of a standard in many genres of music, strats in rock, teles in country etc... Other brands have a sound more suited for other styles of music. Like you I prefer one of my Ibanez (I have 3) for both feel and sound over a Fender, but that is a matter of preference, I know people who hate the feel and sound of Ibanez. I have also noticed that it is often the combination of both guitar and amp that defines the sound, sometimes the amp that sounds great with one guitar will sound like crap with a different guitar.
 
i don't know about the US prices, but what I found out about fender is: low-end fenders ARE crap even for music which fenders are good at :p .

really expensive fenders are... well really expensive, maybe too expensive for what you get but the tone is unique. and this is not uniquely crappy ;) . plug a good fender into a tube amp, hot but not too distorted, switch to the neck position and play. aaaaah, beautiful. an ibanez won't give you that.

ibanez are great guitars. they feel great, play great and their tone is ok. most of all the price is fair.

if you don't prefer fender-tone to ibanez-tone, there's no sense in buying a fender. but if you totally love fender-tone (like me) you hate fender for their shitty tremolo and astronomic prices. ;) :D
 
i get so confused on this sht.

yeah, Fender makes crap cheap material stuff. their starting a damn WalMart line!

but then you read some #1 CD was recorded with a dude using a Squire.
 
I think Fender has done a wonderful job of making guitars available to everyone who wants one. You can buy a cheap Fender, or an expensive Fender. Paul Reed Smith is learning this lesson, BC Rich learned this lesson, Ibanez, Jackson and many others have learned about price-point marketing. Price point marketing demands constraints on the manufacturing/testing process that is different for every manufacturer. Of course a $600 fender doesn't play like an Eric Johnson Strat.
 
I prefer Ibanez myself for heavy instrumental stuff but I made one recording on a borrowed Fender using a very basic setup, just a Boss Distortion pedal through a Marshall amp and the sound was amazing. Excellent for shred solos and great for controlled feedback. I just don't like the way they look and feel but I have to say that the high end ones sound really cool.
 
six said:
really expensive fenders are... well really expensive, maybe too expensive for what you get but the tone is unique.
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I'm sure prices are much different in Switzerland... so I'm not directing repy this at you. But I hear people bitching about Fender prices all the time and I don't understand it. You can get an American Fender Strat for under $1k. Less than $1k for a legendary, classic, famous, awesome guitar!

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/510590/

Now check out this other legendary, classic, famous, awesome guitar:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=guitar/search/detail/base_pid/517188/

Or this more modern yet still legendary, famous, awesome guitar that is so expensive, retailers won't advertise the price:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/519908/

In comparison, that "expensive" Fender is actually looking pretty cheap. I just can't understand why anyone who is serious about playing guitar would complain about a GREAT guitar costing less than $1k. :rolleyes:
 
you got me a bit wrong on this one... I wanted to say:

- cheap fenders are crap
- EXPENSIVE fenders (the ones for 1500 upwards) are less and less worth their price

fenders at about 1000$ are - compared to other famous and not so famous guitars - well worth their price.

but hey - there are flutes that cost 1500£, even ones made by yamaha! :D


with these guitars it's just like with cars: a 20'000$-car IS better than a 10'000£-car... just not twice as good. but the thing is, two 10'000-cars won't give you what one 20'000-car does - so there's no real choice! :p
 
Scottgman said:
In comparison, that "expensive" Fender is actually looking pretty cheap. I just can't understand why anyone who is serious about playing guitar would complain about a GREAT guitar costing less than $1k. :rolleyes:
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maybe they only have $400? just guessing.

Someone posted to "put on a blindfold and try stuff at guitar center what would your ears pick?"

I agree, challenge everyone to take a friend and do more "blindfold" stuff before purchasing.


would your ears really pick the American Made $999 Stratocaster over the $500 Stratocaster over the $89 Stratocaster or the Korean Stratocasteer, or the Mexican Stratocaster, or the Japaneese Stratocaster or the WalMArt Stratocaster or the AMerican/Mexican/Chineese Stratocaster or the Fake Relic Stratocaster or the real vintage Stratocaster or the Malaysian Stratocaster or the Texas Special Stratocaster or the Highweay One Stratocaster or the Anniversary Stratocaster or the ...geez :eek:

When I hear Fender I don't know what to think anymore.

i'm just an old fart....overwhelmed with the choices, its almost paralyzing at times.

Boutique is cool if thats your bag. $$$ its a game for the rich.
I bought a real US strtocaster after my Squire had actuall broken parts.
Does it sound 900x's better ....NO.
Do I enjoy owning it, yeah...gearlust is satisfied, its cool to own one again before i kick the bucket.

But its like a Carpenter saying "that shelf is made of African Mohagany, dwelled in 70% humidity for 10years!!"

well the books sitting on the shelf don't give a fhk...its rectangular...and it serves a function. but plywood can do that too.

ok, i'm thru...i figuired out the world problems for Fender...on to the next thread...
if you have more questions ask someone else I'm mentally exhausted.... :p
 
COOLCAT said:
maybe they only have $400? just guessing.
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That's almost half way there. $400 is a good down-payment on Layaway or just a couple months more of saving money and that American Fender is a reality!

That's my point. If you have $400 and you are *serious* about playing guitar, $900 is not unreasonable for a GREAT guitar.

If you are just a beginner or someone that likes to strum every now and then or someone who likes to have a guitar sitting in the corner because it looks cool... then by all means, get the cheapest Fender you can find.

But complaining that Fenders are "too expensive" is ridiculous. In the market of *good* guitars... an American Fender is a bargain.
 
Scottgman said:
I'm sure prices are much different in Switzerland... so I'm not directing repy this at you. But I hear people bitching about Fender prices all the time and I don't understand it. You can get an American Fender Strat for under $1k. Less than $1k for a legendary, classic, famous, awesome guitar!

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/510590/

Now check out this other legendary, classic, famous, awesome guitar:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=guitar/search/detail/base_pid/517188/

Or this more modern yet still legendary, famous, awesome guitar that is so expensive, retailers won't advertise the price:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/519908/

In comparison, that "expensive" Fender is actually looking pretty cheap. I just can't understand why anyone who is serious about playing guitar would complain about a GREAT guitar costing less than $1k. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...


I agree. I think even the Mex strats are good guitars.....The neck and bodies are great and you can get a hot pickup/pickguard setup for $100 on ebay.

I have a vintage Fender '66 strat, with the original Kluson doubleline keys....it refuses to go out of tune. I may do 3 or 4 gigs without checking it....pull it right out of the case and play...it's still in tune!

Thats quality IMHO.

For metal you need a humbucker guitar....but for an all around great guitar I don't see where anything fender has pioneered has been improved upon.

Fender offers outstanding bang for the buck (plus its a fender)
 
Scottgman said:
That's my point. If you have $400 and you are *serious* about playing guitar, $900 is not unreasonable for a GREAT guitar.

If you are just a beginner or someone that likes to strum every now and then or someone who likes to have a guitar sitting in the corner because it looks cool... then by all means, get the cheapest Fender you can find.
.
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yeah, i agree in the long run you'll save the gearlust and have a well made, quality materials guitar.

but yeah from the beginner standpoint, yeah and if they dmage the damn thing leaving it lyung around! i'm a parent.
Maturity to appreciate the cost of the expensive sht....not that you should trash out a $69 new Fender.
 
Remember

A $600 guitar with a lousy setup will be a lousy guitar no matter what. Perhaps it just needs a proper setup.

It could also be the single coil sound is not what you are after. I went through many Strat's before I found one I love, a 98 Big Apple Strat. It has 2 humbuckers stock and sounds better to me than single coils. But then there will be people who like single coils better.

I would suggest it's not the "Fender" that is making your friends guitar not sound as good as it could...
 
COOLCAT said:
but then you read some #1 CD was recorded with a dude using a Squire.
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this bears repeating once again:

Tone is in THE FINGERS. tone is not in the guitar.

the guitar is just a tool. the artistry and magic are in the player.


cheers,
wade
 
Scottgman said:
That's almost half way there. $400 is a good down-payment on Layaway or just a couple months more of saving money and that American Fender is a reality!

That's my point. If you have $400 and you are *serious* about playing guitar, $900 is not unreasonable for a GREAT guitar.

If you are just a beginner or someone that likes to strum every now and then or someone who likes to have a guitar sitting in the corner because it looks cool... then by all means, get the cheapest Fender you can find.

But complaining that Fenders are "too expensive" is ridiculous. In the market of *good* guitars... an American Fender is a bargain.
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a agree whole heartedly...i get tired of people trashing fender. for the most part every fender thing i have owned has withstood abuse well, and the fender guitars i have owned played well according to their prices. why do you think guitarists such as eric clapton, john mayer (only to name two very good guitarists in the fender style of playing) started playing fender guitars, because even though they were a rip off and sucked they just wanted the name? my guess is they probably liked the way they played and sounded...

and also, cheap fenders do not suck. sometimes the pickups leave something to be desired, but those can easily be changed. most cheaper fenders i've played have played pretty well....i think it gets less and less consistent the cheaper you go because of less quality control, but that is why you should always play the guitar before you buy it...

just because it is someone personally likes one guitar over one fender guitar (i.e. in the case of this post the ibanez over the fender) does not mean fender sucks
 
You hit the nail on the head when it comes to Fender and some other Major manufacturers. The base cost is probably in a fairly narrow window amongst similar like models for the materials to put one together, outside the electronics and the paint job, it is probably very narrow. The overhead swing in price difference depends more on the levels of scrutiny given the individual instrument during and after manufacturing. That being said, you can pay up front for the premium that leaves flawless and setup perfectly, or get the lesser cost models and take them to a luthier for close scrutiny and adjustment, possibly an upgrade in electronics and arrive at probably the same cost after you add the post-purchase costs back.

A black car without radio, AC, and electric windows is just as good of a car, as a red pinstriped car of the same model with everything on it. Same car different detail.
 
kq300325 said:
Their concept is to make they gayest guitar possible!!
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I'm sure they do (make at least one model), as long as there`s any of you to feed that market.
 
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six said:
- cheap fenders are crap
- EXPENSIVE fenders (the ones for 1500 upwards) are less and less worth their price
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Hmmmm I have only seen three types of $1500+ Fender Strats.

1. It was vintage.
2. It was 'vintage'. (aka they aged it to look vintage) I think they call them 'Relics'.
3. it was from the Custom Shop.


None of those I would consider over priced...including the 'Relic' ones -which I just think is plain stupid, but I understand why they are still more expenive....it does take a long time and skill to age it correctly and not just look like you spend 30 seconds ramming into a wall and across the ground before charing the extra money.
 
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